Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Time Has Come

This is an email we sent to our supporters. I hope you will also read our March reflections
in this blog.

Dear Friends in Christ

The time has finally come. For the last two years, Ellen and I have said
we were retiring. Because this diocese
and its people are so much a part of us, we have continually postponed this
date. Though we didn´t realize it, we
were subconsciously waiting for God to tell us it was time to return to
Nebraska.

Ellen and I heard a very strong call to enter the
mission field. We believed that we would
hear a call when it was time for us to leave.
Though the call wasn´t as strong, we have heard a call indicating that it
is time for us to return to our family in Nebraska. However, we are not abandoning our mission
work for the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic. We will remain involved.

In fact, the Bishop has offered us Diocesan housing
when the cold winds start to blow across the Nebraska plains. January, February, and March would seem like
a good time to help in the Dominican Church.
We are still discerning how we should be involved, but we WILL be
involved.

There are many reasons why we think the Lord is
recalling us. First of all, our family
has given us 16 years in the mission field, and we believe it is now time to be
with them. Two years ago when we first
announced our retirement, our funding dropped off almost immediately. Last fall we learned our mission account was
$38,000 in the red. As of the end of
December we lost part of our stipend coming from the National Church, because
they also thought we were retiring. For
these two reasons, and others, we thought it was time to say good-bye.

The Diocese of Nebraska has carried us, but Ellen and
I haven´t owed money to anyone for over 20 years. The burden of owing the diocese money was one
we could not personally accept. As a
result we took money we have saved to relocate back to Nebraska, and used it to
repay the diocese.

The Lord has taken care of our every need in the
mission field, and we know he will do so as we adjust to living back in
Nebraska. However, please do not stop
praying for us. We need to find a
comfortable place to live in Nebraska and we need to feel content in being back
home. I know it may sound ridiculous,
but we believe it will a more difficult to adjust to our Nebraska surroundings, than the
cultural adjustment we made to the DR. If
you do wish to help us financially, please use this address - Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, Snow Mission, 109 No. 18th St., Omaha, Nebraska 68102 Be sure to indicate it is
for SNOW Mission.

My friends we thank you for your prayers and
support. You have made it possible for
us to live an incredible life over the last 16 years in the Dominican
Republic. It has been a fantastic
spiritual adventure. As a way of saying
good-bye to one adventure, and hello to the next, Ellen and I want to share
with you some mission reflections on our time in the DR. We hope to do so monthly until the end of
this year.

With each reflection we send out, we will also share
memories of some of the people who made a difference in our lives during our
time in the DR. There are hundreds, in
truth, but we have limited it to 25.

We will post these reflections on this blog. I hope you will also take the time to read some of our past reflections. There two reflections this month in addition to this one. You can reach the blog by going to May God Bless you as he has blessed us by your support
over the years.

Every month for the rest of the year, we will
share with you five individuals or groups that influenced our ministry. There are hundreds of people who we met along
the way and gave us a helping hand. We prepared
our lists separately. In some cases,
only one of us will share our reflection and some occasions we will both
share. We limited to 25 simply because
it seemed like a good number.

Bishop Julio and Milagros Holguín

BOB When Ellen and I arrived in the Dominican
Republic to serve as full-time missionaries, it was only our second trip. On our first trip, we were in the DR for two
days. This time we had committed
ourselves for a minimum of four years.
We were here, because we both believed that this is where our Lord
wanted us to serve.

Now 16 years after our arrival, we
can look back and clearly understand why we were called to serve in the
DR. Bishop Holguin, Milagros, and the
people of this country are the reason we have stayed here 12 years longer than
our original commitment. Bishop Holguin
taught us what it means to live by faith and believe that if you do your part,
our Lord will do his.

This diocese has undergone a
spectacular period of growth, because of the leadership and faith of its Bishop.
When Bishop Holguin believes a worshiping community is strong enough, he will buy property and start the
foundation of a church. At first, I
thought the diocese was over-extended, because we had several schools and
churches under construction. But Bishop
Holguin´s faith philosophy is start building it and they will come to finish it.

Milagros with Bob

Working in the diocesan office, we
have seen a side of Bishop Holguin that few others in this diocese have an
opportunity to see. His generosity to
especially the poor is a wonderful and a very special gift he gives to God´s
people. He has been incredibly kind to
Ellen and me. He has on many occasions
supported clergy and lay people who are struggling with grave health
problems. He is a person who reaches out
without others knowing.

Milagros joins him in this generosity
of spirit. She has supported her husband
and his ministry but has remained in the background. She helps when help is needed. She is both a Mary and Martha and her gift of
hospitality makes everyone entering her home feel comfortable.

I cannot put into words the
influence they both have had on this diocese and us. Their love and support have made our ministry
here both satisfying and productive.

ELLEN -You
can’t separate the two, but I will do my best to talk about each one. Bishop Holguin has been a very exciting
person to work for. He is a
visionary. He accepts no
boundaries. He dreams with his heart and
his soul. He is so honest. He pushes people to do things, they don’t
think they can do, but he pushes and gets what he thinks is needed. His shoes will not be filled easily. It has been a huge privilege for us to serve
as missionaries under his tutelage. He has
always been available to help and to give aid.
He will have a special place in my heart forever. Many people do not know all the ways he has
helped people. He carries so much
responsibility, I don’t know how he
handles it, but he does. He amazes
me.

His
soul mate, Milagros, is always at his side.
She is the hostess to top all hostesses.
I have never seen her without a smile on her face. She handles a small dinner party of 5 as well
as a dinner party of 25. She also helps
many people and projects that no one else knows about. She and the bishop are so generous, but are
always behind the scenes when it comes to letting people know how much they
do. This diocese is what it is today
because of the tireless work of the two of them together. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to
work with them and get to know them personally.

Vivencia Kids

BOB - Perhaps our greatest and most lasting gift to this
diocese was introducing Happenings, or Vivencia, to the young people of this
diocese. Ellen and I were Mom and Dad on
the first Happenings in Nebraska. We
knew the spiritual impact Happenings had on young people in Nebraska. One of our early goals was to introduce
Happenings in the DR. Fortunately Aldo
Rincon and Miguelina Espinal, two Dominican young people, had attended Vivencia
in Puerto Rico. Our friends from Puerto
Rico joined us in presenting the first Vivencia here. After the first Vivencia, the youth took over
and provided strong leadership without much adult supervision.

Vivencia has changed the spiritual face of this
diocese. Our youth are involved and
committed. Youth on the first few Vivencia
are now adult leaders within the diocese.
The diocese will continue to benefit from the spiritual leadership
qualities of these young people for years to come.

ELLEN - Bob and I were active with Happenings in the US. When we arrived in the Dominican Republic, a
young women who is now a priest, asked us to help get Happenings started in the
Dominican Republic. Of course, we said
yes. We started the program with the
help of the youth and clergy leadership from Puerto Rico. Every since then I have been one of the moms
on the weekends. I feel now like a
grandmother to some of the youth that are now in the program.

Every year we have a Vivencia
weekend in August. For the last few
years, I kept saying I didn’t think I had the energy to do the weekend, but I
did them. I always feel so fulfilled
with the youth. They work hard and we
worship together and pray together and it never ceases to energize my aging
body and my faith. I come back renewed
and energized to tackle the problems facing me each time.

I have watched some of these youth
mature into young adults. They put me to
shame at how hard they work on the weekend and how much they put into the
weekend. Some of them I believe will be
or already are priests and other ministers of the church. I know many of them now are serving on their
vestries. Many of them are youth leaders
in their church. I can’t tell you how
much they inspire me. They also give me
hope for our church in the future. I
pray that they do not lose the fire of their enthusiasm to share the gospel
with other youth outside their circle.

Father Gonzales (left) with the Bishop

Father Daniel Gonzalez

Ellen – I
remember when coming to the Dominican Republic, there was this priest with a
sweet smile. However, all the
seminarians were afraid of him and even some of the people in the church. He was known as a man who could be really
tough.

However, he was very kind to Bob and
I. He had the patience of Job. He was the dean of the seminary at the time
and also was the Spanish pastor for Epiphany church. For some reason, he felt sorry for Bob and I
and he took us under his wing. He was so
patient with our bad Spanish. He never
spoke English, although I think he could have if he wanted to. He was a learned man and he ruled the
seminary and the church with a stern hand.
But yet there was something about him that Bob and I grew to love, and
so did others in the church.

He was so loving to us. He would push us when we needed to be pushed,
but he was always there to talk to us and guide us.

As the years went by, Fr. Gonzalez
developed heart problems. He never let
it get him down. He would get sick, but
he would bounce right back. He never
stopped doing what he loved. Every
morning I would see him take his morning walk.
He would always greet me and give him a special hug.

My favorite memory of him was on
Sunday mornings. When he was not
responsible for the Spanish congregation, he would go to his office and wait
for us to deliver communion to him after the service in the church. Although he was a learned man, he never made
you feel beneath him. He could look into
your eyes and make you feel like he could read everything about you. I still see his face now and then.

Fr. Gonzalez left this earth as he
always went about God’s work, quietly and gently. I know and hope that one of the people that
will meet me in heaven will be Fr. Gonzalez.

BOB – When
Ellen arrived in Santo Domingo on December7, 1995, Epiphany Church did not have
a priest. Bishop Reus, the former Bishop
of Puerto Rico, had served the church until just two months prior to my
arrival. I was a new missionary, who
spoke very little Spanish, and was assigned to take care of a church with both
an English and Spanish congregation. I
was relieved that the Dean of the seminary would celebrate Sunday services for
the Spanish congregation. I was
intimated at first at serving with the Dean of the Seminary.

At first, I was to reluctant to
speak Spanish in the mass. My
pronunciation was terrible, my vocabulary was small, and I stumbled over words
with more than three syllables.

The second Sunday I was at Epiphany,
he asked me to conduct the first part of the Spanish service. I was prepared to read the gospel, but I was
not prepared to read out loud from the prayer book. I said I had not practiced the readings. He agreed to do it, but told me to be
prepared on the next Sunday. From that
point on, I conducted the first part of the service.

Father Gonzalez always pushed me to
do more, than I thought I could or should do.
When I stumbled over words, he didn´t say thing, even though I knew he
had a reputation as a perfectionist. Few
deacons, and even fewer missionaries, have the opportunity to learn from the
dean of a seminary, and a person who preached the gospel in both words and
life.

When we moved off of church
property, we spent less time with Father Gonzalez. When we returned to the DR from Nebraska in 2011,
we learned that Fr. Gonzalez had died.
Now as we are about to leave the DR, I regret that I did not spend more
time with him. Fr. Gonzalez made our
transition into this culture easier, but even more important he gave me an
insight into Latin Spirituality. Thank
you Fr. Gonzales.

Cathedral Feeding Program

Mary

BOB - I don´t remember Mary´s last name, but I do remember
when I first met her. I was preaching at
Epiphany Cathedral when Mary entered the church, shouting embarrassing phrases
and walking up the center isle barefoot and dirty. Epiphany frequently has street people enter
the church, so our ushers politely asked Mary to sit down or leave the
church. She decided to sit down.

Mary was extremely aggressive and could be
violent. She was hungry, and there was
little doubt that she needed help. But
Mary´s greatest need was that she desired someone to care about her needs and
love her.

Mary would periodically visit the church, and she discovered
that we did care about her if she entered Epiphany and sat down. Because of her aggressive manner, people were afraid of
her. But she knew that there were people
at Epiphany who really cared about her and would help.

When we didn´t see Mary for a few months, we became
concerned. About a year after we stopped
seeing her on Sundays, she entered the church and she was wearing shoes and a
clean dress. She sat down in the back
row as always. When the ushers came down
the aisle with the offering, I saw her stand up and follow them.

After the ushers presented me with the offering they
stepped back. It is then I saw Mary
holding a lit candle with a picture of Jesus.
She kissed Jesus and then handed me the candle as her offering. I left the candle on the altar and after
communion put it on the credence table.
When I looked out at the congregation, I could easily tell they knew
what had happened. Several of them were
wiping tears from their eyes.

Another year passed without seeing Mary. One Sunday Ellen came back to the sacristy
and said there was someone by the front door who wanted to see me. When I asked who it was she said you may not
recognize her, but you will be happy to see her. As I walked down the center aisle, I did not
recognize the person who wanted to see me.
Then suddenly I did. It was
Mary. She was at least 25 pounds
heavier, and wore a clean and neatly pressed skirt and blouse. I gave her a hug. She told me she was staying in a Catholic
home, but she just wanted to tell us how much she appreciated the church and
what we did for her.

Mary taught me many things about the culture of living
on the streets. She illustrated to us
the power of Christ´s love when we demonstrate this love to other people. We haven´t seen Mary for about two
years. But we both believe she is being
taken well care of. Maybe by the
Catholic Church, but most certainly by the one who takes care of us all.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Mission Questions and Answers

Earlier in the
year, a woman attending a seminary asked us to respond to some questions for a
class she is taking on mission. We
thought our answers were a good way to start a series of monthly blogs on our
mission experiences. Every month we will
share with you 5 people or groups which influenced our mission work. In addition, we will share some of our experiences. If you have questions about mission that you
would like us to answer. please send
them to bobsnow_2005@yahoo.com. Now the questions.—

1.What are the
greatest challenges you encounter in your ministry?

BOB -In many
ways, every day is a challenge. In the
first part of our ministry learning Spanish was by far the greatest
challenge. Through language you can
learn more about the culture. The first
two years were especially difficult, because we did not know the culture we
were called to serve. In our third year,
we began to understand this culture.
Another great challenge was determining how we could best serve the
church in the DR.

ELLEN-In the
beginning it was learning a foreign language and adapting to a culture that was
very different from where I came from.
Now that I have been in this country for 16 years, I think my biggest
challenges have been to be the bridge between North American mission teams and
the Dominican people and clergy. The two
cultures are so different and sometimes North Americans want to be so generous,
but they don’t understand there is a wrong and a right way to be generous.

Another challenge
that all missionaries face in a third world country, is the poverty. You want to help everyone, but you know you
can’t. So you must decide who gets help
and who doesn’t. It is very difficult at
times to work this out in your heart.
Who can I help and how much and how?

2.What are
the greatest joys of your ministry?

ELLEN- I think that any missionary receives great joy
when you see that you have helped someone to know God. When you see the fruits of your labors
flourish and someone comes to you and says, you have helped me.

A personal joy to
me is that I see relationships with Dominicans develop into deep trust and true
affection for one another. There is no
greater joy than to realize that someone trusts you and truly cares about
you.

BOB- My
greatest joy is worshiping in a poor barrio with my Dominican brothers and sisters
in Christ.

3. What theology grounds your work in
the particular ministry you conduct?

BOB­ ­:Matthew 25 35-45 Ellen and I heard a call to serve God´s
forgotten and needy people. We were
involved in prison ministry in Nebraska for many years, which is certainly a
mission field. It proved to be a
training program for foreign mission work.
Mission involves accepting and working comfortably in another culture.

ELLEN -First of
all, my love of the Father is my motivation for everything I try to do. Without that love to show me and guide me and
strengthen me, I could not do anything.
I believe now, that all things are possible with God’s love. To love God is so simple. The world wants us to believe it is too
difficult, but that simplicity, the faith of a child, is so important to loving
God enough to give him yourself completely.
As I write this, I realize that is the joy of my ministry, is to love
God with all my heart, and mind and soul.

4. What surprises did you find or
encounter in your work?

ELLEN -The first surprise that I found in my work is that I
could work with my husband and form a real trust relationship with him. We work as a team. We come from very different perspectives, but
we have learned to count on each other to give us a different twist on all
things.

I can’t tell you how many times I have learned that
the power of prayer really, really works.
God answers prayers. He answers
big prayers and little prayers.

On the negative side of things, I have been shocked
sometimes at how insensitive people can be to one another. I have also been shocked at North Americans
that do not understand what is going on in the rest of the world from the stand
point of cultural differences and just the world poverty. I guess I will say that working in another
country has opened my eyes to many things, good and bad.

BOB -Like most missionaries, we were surprised that we have
received more spiritually from those we were sent to served, than we were able
to give to them. It seems that the
poorer the community, the richer the spirituality among its people.

5. What forms of support have you
received?

BOB -We have received financial, prayer, and love
support. This support comes from
churches and individuals. We have visited
over 125 churches to talk about mission, not necessarily to ask them for
personnel support. However, many of our
financial supporters come from the churches we visited. We also receive a stipend from the USA
National Church as appointed missionaries.

ELLEN - Oh my
goodness!!! I could go on for hours about this subject.

Not only have we received financial support of all
kinds, but people have been generous
with their prayer support. Plus many
people are kind to us. They will send us
care packages of things that we couldn’t get here at first. Just to give you a little list – chocolate
chips, peanut butter, mint tea, peppermint hard candies, etc. etc.

We receive e-mails and letters and cards from many,
many people, some we don’t know too well.

We have received support from the National Church in
the years past. The church here has been
a wonderful support to us. The Dominican
Diocese is always ready to help us when something is needed. They help us find doctors when we need it,
they have helped us when our apartment was broken into and we had to have doors
replaced. They have been a wonderful
support system for us.

6. How have you been received by the
receiving community or other communities you have visited?

ELLEN - The
receiving community helped us by having another missionary help us get
established here. They received us with
warmth and love. However, I think they
waited to see if we would stay here.
Most missionaries don’t stay for a long time. Usually, they stay for four or five years and
then move away to another location or back to the states. I think they thought we would do the
same. However, once they knew we were
staying, things began to change.

Because our
ministry takes us all over the diocese, we have been received in many
communities with open arms. I know that
at first we represented North American teams, but as the relationship formed,
they realized that we were here to help them.

At first, I think
communities were polite to us because they knew we were from the diocesan
office, but as our relationship grew, we were received into other communities
because the word had gotten around.

BOB - We have been received extremely well. Many of our Dominican friends, including the
Bishop, say we are now part Dominican, a real compliment.

7. How have you been changed through
your involvement in mission?

BOB - I cannot possibly list all the ways I have been
changed through our involvement in mission.
Here are just some

·A richer,
deeper and more meaningful spiritual life.

·More
dependent on God, and less dependent upon me.

·More laid
back in dealing with life events coming my way.

·More accepting
of all God´s people, no matter skin color, smell, or mental attitude. I love working with street people.

·I
demonstrate my love and care for people in a more personal and loving way.

·Etc. etc.
etc. etc.

ELLEN -Here is
another subject that I could write a book.
I think the first and foremost thing is that my faith as a Christian has
grown tremendously. I am not afraid to
offer to pray with people. I am not
afraid to talk about my relationship with Christ because I know now that it is
the most important gift I can give to others.

My perspective on
the world, on poverty, on just living has changed drastically. I have lived a wonderful adventure with
Christ for 16 years. I no longer look at
life and say how can we do this? I look
at life and say why not? My life has
been filled with so many wonderful adventures, that anything outside of the mission field has to
be anticlimactic. I have been given the
greatest gift a Christian could have been given and I am totally grateful for
that gift.

My whole
perspective on life has changed and will continue to change. It cannot be expressed in words. If I continue to try I will just frustrate
myself and bore you.

8. How has this affected your
family/children who are either with you or geographically separate?

ELLEN - This is
one of the down sides to being a missionary.
I would be dishonest to say everything was fine and is fine. I will start with our parents. I had just lost my father and I had to leave
my mother. But my only sibling came to
me and said, “Ellen, I know God is calling you.
Go ahead, I will take care of mom.
We will be fine.” This took a
huge burden off my heart. He is still
doing what he was called to do. My
husband’s parents on the other hand, were in disbelief. They couldn’t understand how we could leave
our good jobs and family to do this.

My husband’s
brothers had varied reactions. Some did
not want to talk about it. One brother
has supported us and ask us to visit with them all the time about our work and
about Christian issues.

Our children – We
have two daughters. One is a strong
Christian, but she at one time found it hard to understand how we could leave them for this
long. However, we have a good relationship.

Our other daughter
– In her formative years was quite a hand full.
But as she became a mother and matured, she has been the one who is more
understanding about what we are doing.
She shares with us her deep faith in God and always wants to know what
we are doing. She is a single mom, she
has very little to support us financially, but she will open her home to us any
time and is always ready to visit with us when she can. Her emotional support has meant a lot to us
through the years.

BOB -Our family is separated from us. Our youngest daughter, who is divorced with
two children, became less dependent upon us, or in other words grew up. Our grandchildren would like us closer, but
have a pride in what their grandparents are doing. My Mom and Dad continually ask when we are
coming home. I think initially they
thought we were crazy in giving up our jobs.
After 16 years they are accepting. In some ways, I feel closer to my family, because when we go back we
spend quality time with them.

“Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me.” Matthew 25:40

About Us

Dear Friends in Christ:
In 1995 we answered God's call to serve the people Iglesia Episcopal Dominican - Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic.
Bishop Julio Cesar Holguín assigned us to work in the Diocesan Office, and also assigned Bob to severe the people of Epiphany Church which is near the office. It is the church pictured on this page. Epiphany is the only church in the diocese with services in three languages - English and Spanish and French. The people of Epiphany have smothered us with love.
As missionaries we receive no financial support from the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic. This is by choice. We must raise our own financial support. Without our partners in mission, this ministry would not be possible. These blog is dedicated to our supporters and their faithfulness to our Lord Jesus.
Thanks to them we have been blessed with the opportunity to serve in the Dominican Republic for all these years.
May Christ bless you as he has blessed us.
Bob and Ellen Snow